Ready to share my learnings for Gaganyaan mission: Shubhanshu Shukla

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom-4 mission colleagues shared the experiences of their 20-day space mission and the 18-day stay at the International Space Station

In his first public interaction since returning from space, astronaut and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Friday said he is focussed on setting to put his learnings to use for India’s Gaganyaan mission scheduled for 2027.

Shukla became the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma’s sojourn as part of the Soviet Russian mission in 1984. (PTI photo)

Shukla recalled speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called it a very moving moment.

“It was a moment of returning to space after 41 years. But it is the beginning of what I like to call the second orbit. This time, we are ready to lead, not just fly,” said Shukla during a post mission media briefing along with three other Axiom-4 mission crewmates.

“From launch to recovery, the learnings of one year feels like more than a year. The learnings and knowledge is going to prove invaluable for our (Gaganyaan) mission”, he said.

On June 25, Dragon Grace spacecraft lifted off with mission pilot Shukla along with commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu, marking the first human space flight for India, Poland and Hungary in 40 years. Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to go to space in more than 40 years and the first on the International Space Station (ISS). Of the 21-days in space, Ax-4 crew members spent 18 days on ISS.

Expressing his gratitude to the Indian government, Isro, Indian Air Force, NASA, SpaceX, the 39-year-old said spending 21 days in space exceeded his expectations.

“It has filled me with a sense of purpose. This is only the beginning”, he said.

While preparation for the Ax-4 mission began on August 1 last year, Shukla said the experience of being in space, performing experiments and understanding how the body reacts to microgravity adds to what they were trained for through the year.

“We got comfortable fast. After a couple of days, it didn’t matter if we were next to the floor or the ceiling,” he laughed.

The Lucknow resident shed light on how it took him days to adjust to gravity.

“It takes some time to get back to what we did all our lives. With the training to gain balance and strength, I was back to normal in 3-4 days,” said Shukla.

“The rehab is going great, it feels normal and I am ready for another mission again”, he said.